Police officers in Manchester assist a man who is thought have taken spice.
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

There has been a dramatic increase in ambulances being called to deal with people who have taken the dangerous synthetic cannabinoid spice, with paramedics in some areas of England dealing with six times as many affected people compared with last year.

The figures have prompted concern from paramedics and police that some areas may be engulfed by the substance, which has become a persistent problem among homeless communities.

The warnings come despite it being reclassified as a class B drug more than a year ago. Anyone found to be in possession of it could face up to five years’ imprisonment.

Data from West Midlands ambulance service showed a surge in call-outs linked to spice and black mamba (another name for the drug). Numbers went up from 2,890 call-outs between January and July 2017, to 3,233 in the same period a year later.

Figures from South Western ambulance service NHS foundation trust (SWASFT) painted a similar picture. Between August 2016 and July 2017, 157 calls were about the synthetic cannabinoid, compared with 960 from August 2017 and July 2018.

SWASFT said it had seen a “significant rise” in the number of patients experiencing symptoms from taking spice, but incidents remained a small proportion of the 900,000 annual calls they get.

A West Midlands ambulance service spokesman said users were “putting their lives at risk every time they take [these substances]”.

“The effect on the patient can vary considerably; our staff often treat legal high users who have suffered seizures, heart attacks and strokes. Some patients are left with long-term illnesses whilst others never wake up,” he said.

Police and charities have also warned that use of the psychoactive substance is a big problem.

“Walk to any city centre and you can see the effect [of spice] going up, and also rough sleeping in city centres is going up – the two are absolutely inextricably linked,” says Lee Ball, the Salvation Army’s centre manager in Cardiff.

How spice, ‘the zombie drug’, is devastating communities

Read more

“The reason spice use has gone up is that we have lots of people who are very hurt and not enough resources and time out there to understand what we are working with.”

Spice is a manmade chemical with mind-altering effects. It was initially marketed as having effects similar to those of cannabis but is believed to be stronger. Usually the chemicals are sprayed on to plant materials to make it look like marijuana. Those who take spice can experience a faster heart rate and a feeling of confusion. It has been linked to a rising number of emergency department visits and to some deaths.

Nick Buckley, the chief executive of the antisocial behaviour reduction charity Mancunian Way, said: “Spice is still a huge problem but it’s not hitting the headlines any more. Its use is epidemic among the rough sleeping community in Manchester city centre. It is the drug of choice.”

Buckley said the influence of spice on the vulnerable could be immense. “One gentleman I saw was in his 30s and was almost foaming at the mouth. He was lying on the floor and some teenagers were taking pictures and laughing and trying to provoke him. Members of the public were calling the emergency services and trying to get him to sit up.”

Harry Sumnall, a professor in substance use at the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University, said evidence suggested the harms of spice had not decreased but there was no good data on it. “It’s so regionally specific and tends to be a greater focus of attention where street homelessness is more visible,” he said.

Data exclusively obtained by the Guardian through freedom of information requests revealed that the number of police crime reports in which spice is mentioned has risen fivefold from 234 in 2015 to 1,157 last year. Of the 2017 reports, 725 were for drug offences and 432 showed spice was mentioned in relation to other crimes such as violence with injury.

In Derbyshire, the number of crime reports mentioning spice went from eight to 101 in three years.

Insp Lauren Woods, who is in charge of policing in Derby city centre, said: “The use of synthetic cannabinoids has been prevalent in Derby as people come to the city from surrounding areas to take and deal in these substances, … [spice and black mamba] are cheap, easy to make and easy to buy and Derby is not unique in experiencing problems.”

The force has launched a large-scale operation to tackle the issue. Warrants have been issued and 11 people arrested on suspicion of supplying class B drugs.

Data from the British Transport Police showed references to spice went from zero in 2015 to 80 last year. ”

A large part of the rise can be linked with the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act and the fact that cannabinoids were added to the Misuse of Drugs Act in December 2016.

Last year spice was reclassified as a class B drug following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Simon Bray, the National Police Chief Council’s policing lead for new psychoactive substances, points out that its use is also growing in prisons. “In some prisons the use is quite heavy and that is because not all prisons have the same controls over how it gets in,” he said.

“To deal with it we need all agencies to tackle it. It’s harmful stuff and it does impact on the brain and has a tendency to make people violent in some cases,” he added.

Ball said: “I remember speaking to one young man about what he wanted from spice and he said: ‘It makes me feel like my head has been cut off.’ He was seeking a sense of dismemberment.